The characters of the 2012 “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” series
aren’t really characters that you would ever want to mess with. They’re strong,
skilled, talented and - given their ninja nature - VERY deadly. But in a
competition between them all, who would have what it takes to come out on top?
I’m ____ with Wicked Binge, and this is “Which TMNT 2012 Character Would Win Squid Game?”.
Before we start, a few quick things to note. As always, every competitor comes into the
games without any weapons or powers at their disposal. That includes things like flight or,
in April’s case, psychic abilities. Additionally, we won’t be including
Leonardo or the Shredder in these games as, funnily enough, they’ve both already won a Squid
Game! If you don’t know what we mean, check out our Nicktoons Heroes and Nicktoons Villains
Squid Game videos. We also won’t be including any Kraang characters, as we feel their robot
suits would be too big of an advantage for them, given that they practically qualify as a weapon.
With all that said, it’s time to meet our competitors! For today’s games, we have:
Raphael, Donatello, Michelangelo, April O’Neil, Casey Jones, Karai, Shinigami, Splinter, Timothy,
Leatherhead, Mondo Gecko, Slash, Dr. Rockwell, Pigeon Pete, Mona Lisa, Professor Honeycutt,
Renet, Napoleon Bonafrog, the Rat King, Snakeweed, Razaar, Fishface, Baxter Stockman, Bebop,
Rocksteady, Tigerclaw, Hun, Commander Mozar, Armaggon and the Newtralizer.
That gives us a total of 30 players. Now, let’s see who’s got what it takes to win!
As always, we’ll start with our first game: “Red Light, Green Light”.
“Red Light, Green Light” is a game that’s all about speed and sharp listening skills.
The goal is to make it to the finish line as fast as you can. However, if a player is too
focused on the finish line to realize when a ‘red light’ is coming up, or if they easily panic and
accidentally move or stumble when they’re supposed to freeze, this game could spell their doom.
One of the easiest frontrunners we could see coming out of this round is Splinter.
Not only is it easy for him to stay calm and level-headed in most situations, but
he’s also patient as well as a sharp listener, thanks to his rat ears.
Another person we could see succeeding is the Salamandrian warrior, Mona Lisa. She’s a soldier,
after all, so we feel like she’d be good at effectively moving through
a dangerous space while also listening closely to orders.
Though she’s not a soldier, Shinigami also seems like she’d
do well in this game. She’s incredibly graceful and isn’t easily intimidated.
Moving onto our losers, the first death of these games ends up being Timothy AKA the Pulverizer.
Even before getting mutated and losing his mind, Timothy wasn’t exactly the sharpest tool in the
shed. He’s overly eager and more than a little clumsy, so we couldn’t see him lasting too long.
Similarly, Pigeon Pete also falls in this round. Pigeon Pete is a very strange bird.
Certainly one of the wackier characters in the show. Given that he isn’t very coordinated,
we also feel like him not being allowed to fly would also put him at a huge disadvantage.
Another person who dies this round is Napoleon. Being a very obvious reference to Napoleon
Dynamite, this guy is slow, awkward and would likely just fall behind in a game like this.
Our final death, sadly, has to be Casey Jones. Out of all the main characters,
Casey is the most reckless. We feel like he’d miss hearing a command
because he’s so focused on getting to the finish line as soon as possible.
With 26 characters left, it’s time for our next game - “Ppopgi” or Honeycomb.
The Honeycomb game requires patience and a steady hand. Too much shaking or
pressure could cause a fatal break. As such, our contestants will need
to have enough focus to poke out their shape without accidentally breaking it.
Obviously, Donatello is a shoe-in for this game. He’s one of the more patient turtles,
and he’s used to working with small instruments and tools, so he knows how to be gentle.
Rockwell, similarly, does well in this round. He used to be a scientist, after all, and as a chimp,
he still has the opposable thumbs needed to still succeed in this task without too much issue.
We also have to mention that Splinter, once again, does very well here. It definitely pays to be
patient, plus his skills as a ninjutsu master would likely give him a keen eye for detail.
One member of the Hamato Clan who DOESN’T do too well, though, is Raphael. While he can be
gentle with his various pets, that’s really the only time that he is gentle. Otherwise,
it’s very easy for Raph to get frustrated or lose his temper. Being the strongest of
the Turtles also doesn’t really help in this case.
The next death we see in this round happens to Mozar. We’re sure that most
of you aren’t surprised, as this guy is a giant triceratops who gets VERY angry
when things don’t go his way. So, it should be expected that he wouldn’t last too long.
Another person who falls in this game is the rhino-man, Rocksteady. For as skilled as he
is with his weapons, Rocksteady can still be pretty clumsy at times, his rhino-mutation
not giving him much coordination. Breaking the honeycomb would be far too easy for him.
Following him, we have to say goodbye to Slash. While a bit more coordinated than
Rocksteady and Mozar, Slash still suffers from the same strength problems as Raph,
which would make it hard for him not to accidentally snap off a piece of his honeycomb.
Our last death of this round is plant-man, Snakeweed. The main reason
why we’re saying goodbye to Snakeweed is because of his hands - or rather,
his LACK of hands. We imagine that having only vines and claws would make it very hard for
him to hold a needle. This combined with his own anger issues would quickly seal his fate.
With several more deaths marked off, we’re down to only 21 characters left on the board. Following
the Honeycomb game, we of course have “The Midnight Brawl”.
Lack of food and sleep plus the stress of staying alive can drive any person to
the point of violence, and in these games, it’s every player for themself. To survive this game,
a person must be either strong enough to fight or clever and sneaky enough to hide. So,
who would be able to either fend off attackers or properly hide themselves until the brawl was over?
It’s safe to say that most of this show’s mutant characters would easily make it through this game,
either because they have the skills needed to properly hide themselves or they have the strength
needed to fight back. However, there are still a few who aren’t quite as lucky this time around.
The first of these unlucky characters, we feel, is Prof. Honeycutt. While yes, being a robot would
normally give him plenty of weapons, we have to remember that he doesn’t have access to any
of his weapons. Additionally, his light-up eyes would make it very hard for him to properly hide.
Next up, we have the time mistress, Renet. Without her time staff,
Renet is essentially just an ordinary human - and one who doesn’t have nearly
as much combat or stealth experience as someone like April or Karai.
Following her, our next death is Mondo Gecko. Mondo is the youngest
of the Mighty Mutanimals. He’s tiny, but he’s also overly eager and a bit brash,
so we can’t see him being a good fighter or a good hider.
Finishing off this round is the one and only Baxter Stockman. Baxter is another one of the
weakest mutants that we see in this incarnation of TMNT. Furthermore, Baxter is very much NOT
a team player and in fact has quite a few people out to get him,
so to call him a big target in this game is a bit of an understatement.
So, after another deadly round, we’re now down to only 17 characters,
and just in time for another strength-based game - “Tug of War”.
Unlike the actual “Squid Game”, we aren’t going to assign characters to specific teams. Instead,
we’re simply going to judge them based on their abilities and likelihood to survive.
To win “Tug of War”, you don’t just need strength. You also need strategy,
and a willingness to work with others. Even weaker players have a shot at
surviving if they can coordinate properly with stronger players.
Although he can’t use his psychic powers in these games, Rockwell
would still do well here, as he is still incredibly smart as well as a good team player,
as we see in his interactions with the Mutanimals.
Mikey gets through this round for similar reasons. Mikey works very well with others
and is able to follow-through on plans when it counts. He also tends to think outside of the box,
so if his team needs a new strategy, we think that Mikey could come up with a pretty good one.
A character like Mona Lisa, on the other hand,
is very strong and could probably win the game just on that alone. In that sense,
her history as a soldier and ability to work with others well is just a bonus.
As for our deaths this round, the first is Hun. Although he’s fairly strong,
Hun is incredibly cocky and, despite being part of the Purple Dragons,
seems like the type who would insist on being leader, even if the other people on his team
don’t want him to be. This, of course, would lead to all of them making the long fall.
Another sorta-human who falls in this game is the Rat King. Rat King is an incredibly
selfish man who isn’t really interested in working together with anyone who isn’t
a rat. Unfortunately for him, he also isn’t strong enough to win on his own.
We also have to say goodbye to two of Shredder’s earliest henchmen: Rahzar and Fishface. In
both of these cases, we see that it’s very hard for these two to care about anyone but themselves,
making it hard for them to work together in a team setting, even if they are strong
fighters in their own right. Additionally, though they can do well in combat, their lack
of pure physical strength - as well as details like Razaar’s boney body or Fishface’s slippery
fish hands - would also make it hard for them to win if they didn’t see eye-to-eye with their team.
Another henchman who dies here is Bebop, for similar reasons
as Razaar and Fishface. Though he can be sneaky, he isn’t the best strategist when
he’s without his gadgets. He also isn’t the strongest, nor is he the best team player.
Our final death in Tug-of-War, we feel, is the Newtralizer. Now, we’ll give the Newtralizer this,
he is definitely strong and had a fairly good chance of winning on his own. His strength,
however, isn’t at the point where it would be impossible to match,
and his tendency to betray others would likely bite him in the tail here.
The games are halfway over and we still have 11
characters left! Up next, we have “The Marble Game”.
Marbles is an interesting one, at least in the context of “Squid Game”. There are multiple
ways for pairs of players to play their marble game. They could focus on accuracy or how far
they can roll their marble, or they can simply guess how many marbles are in their opponent’s
hand. As such, there are multiple ways to win, with most of these ways relying on either skill
or luck. Of course, if you don’t have the skills to win, there’s always manipulation…
True to her mutation, Karai can be very snake-like when
she wants to be. This includes being both manipulative and sneaky. Her sharp skills
as a ninja could also help with the actual marble portion of this game.
Another person who would do well in this game is Tigerclaw. He’s a bounty hunter by trade,
which means that it’s probably easy for him to pick up on small details, making it harder for
someone to trick him. Tigerclaw can also be pretty sneaky when he wants to be, in
addition to having a calm head that can’t easily be flustered.
Donnie, naturally, shares a lot of these traits. His high level of intelligence combined with his
patience and coordination skills would allow him to do very well in this game.
Rockwell, another very smart character, would also do well here, not necessarily
needing his mental powers and being able to instead rely on his own mind.
The same, however, can’t be said for Armaggon, the only person here who we
feel couldn’t win on their own merit. He doesn’t have any particular skills
that could give him an advantage in a game like this, nor is he much of a manipulator.
The other losers of this round, those being Mikey,
Splinter, Shinigami and Leatherhead, also die here - but not for the same
reasons as Armaggon. While they may have the skills needed to survive, their morality,
sense of honor or love would prevent them from doing what they needed to in order to win.
We could easily see both Mikey and Splinter sacrificing their win in
order to save their partner, especially if it was someone they cared about.
Leatherhead, similarly, is much more gentle than he looks and likely wouldn’t want to take the life
of someone who didn’t deserve to die. But, even if he was paired up with someone like Tigerclaw,
we don’t feel like he’d have the manipulation abilities to pull off a win.
Shinigami, while not as honorable as the previously mentioned three, is still very
much loyal to her senpai. If she and Karai were paired up - which they likely would be,
being very much like the husband and wife from the original Squid Game - we
feel like Shini wouldn’t hesitate to give up her own life for Karai.
With that, we’re now down to only _ contestants - and just in time for one
of this competition's deadliest games: “Glass Stepping Stones”.
This game is another tricky one for a hypothetical scenario,
as much of this game relies on luck. There is ONE strategy to it, however, that being the
advantage of going last - after some glasses pieces have already been broken. As such,
those who have a big enough ego to want to try a game first will likely seal their doom.
Although not a huge egotist, we still feel like Mona Lisa would try to cross the bridge
first. The Salamandrians, after all, are known for being proud and unafraid of a challenge.
With this in mind, we couldn’t really see Mona Lisa deciding to go last or hang near the back.
The next person to fall, perhaps unsurprisingly, would be Karai. Based on how she was raised by
the Shredder, Karai can also be very proud and bold, likely thinking that she could
handle whatever challenge the Squid Games had to throw at her. Though her ninjutsu
skills would get her fairly fall, this would still be where she’d meet her end.
The Hamato Clan’s favorite redhead, April, would sadly die next. It’s unfortunate that
these games don’t allow powers, as April’s telepathy likely would have
helped her tell the glass apart. Without it, however, April just wouldn’t have what
it takes to survive being one of the first three to attempt the challenge.
The final death of this round, after managing to survive this long, is unfortunately Rockwell.
Although he’d probably have the best chance of all our losers, he doesn’t have the one
thing one of our winners would have on him - that being a sense of ruthlessness.
So, our winners for this second-to-last round are Donnie and Tigerclaw. Being one who would
be patient enough to hang back and observe, Donnie would most likely be able to memorize
the pattern of the glass panels. His ninja speed and acrobatics would also help him get across.
As for Tigerclaw, being an assassin by trade, he’d have no problem sabotaging
the competition by either pushing them off or finding some other way to make
them fall. He’s also fairly agile, being able to match Donnie’s abilities near perfectly.
With our two finalist selected, we’re now heading into our final round: the titular Squid Game.
In this game, two opponents must go up against one another,
with one acting as a defender and the other as an attacker, with the attacker doing everything
they can to reach the top of the court (or the squid’s ‘head’) and touch it with their foot,
with the defender doing whatever they can to stop them. Or at least, that’s how Squid
Game is traditionally played. Here though, it’s more of a ‘battle to the death’ type of deal.
It was a pretty close call, all things considered. But in the end, the one who
ends up dying in this final round is our final turtle, Donatello.
Now, if it was any other opponent, Donnie probably would’ve won this no problem. He’s a ninja
and a genius. He’s strong, skilled, smart and speedy, allowing him to outmatch most opponents.
Tigerclaw, however, is still older and more experienced. His background as an assassin
would give him additional knowledge on how to quickly incapacitate and kill someone,
and he also has the strength and speed of a tiger. Yeahhh, not a guy you wanna mess with.
What really sealed Donnie’s fate, however, is the ‘no weapons rule’. If Donnie had his
staff and naginata blade, he maybe could have pulled out a win. But even without
his various lasers and knives, Tigerclaw still has his fangs and, well, his claws!
All he’d have to do is get a hold of Donnie for a few seconds, and it’d be game over.
So, our big winner is Tigerclaw, the breakout villain character of this incarnation. It’s
always a bit of a shame when the bad guy wins one of these games, but we really couldn’t think
of anyone more likely to do whatever it took to grab the title and the prize money. Now the
only question is: how would he do when put up against our other two previous TMNT winners?
But let us know in the comment section if you agree with our results,
and tell us what we should cover next! Remember to hit that notification bell
and binge more of our videos. But most importantly, stay wicked!